Monthly Archives: November 2012

Our pillow selection keeps on growing as that elusive perfect pillow is still out there. We have the largest selection of pillows that you have ever seen and yet we are still looking. We want to make sure that whatever you need in a pillow you will be able to find it with us. We have a wide range of organic pillows made from alpaca fibre, wool, cotton, kapok, buckwheat and much more. Choose from carded or knopped wool pillows, shredded or molded latex pillows, alpaca pillows, kapok pillows, buckwheat pillows and then of course we mix the raw materials sometimes to get special feels and supports. Our travel pillow selection now consists of 6 different models ranging from your standard travel pillow to neck rolls to a Dr Bills, with all of the different types of natural fills. We even have pillows that have been designed just for kids. It truly is an amazing selection. We have high loft pillows, medium loft and low loft; we have firm pillows, and soft pillows. Some have zippers allowing you to adjust the height of the pillow, to make it your own. Some have washable covers, while some of the pillows are completely washable. Here are just a few examples of our pillows.

The Premium Organic Alpaca pillows are filled with 70% alpaca fibre, 30% wool and are 100% organic. Known as the greenest animal on the planet, alpacas are raised in natural, organic settings by farmers who are committed to their care and well being. Covered in a silk-like organic cotton, these pillows will make you feel like royalty.

The Dormio Gold latex pillow creates a breathable, cozy rest for your head. The natural ventilation of the latex allows everything to remain breathable for a temperature-controlled environment. 300% more resilient to dust mites and allergens than other foams. The cotton/bamboo blend cover is super soft and machine washable.

The Dormio Kapok pillow offers down like comfort and softness. Naturally hypoallergenic this pillow is great for people with down sensitivities. A side zipper lets you take out or add kapok fill, truly making this your own pillow. Covered in a soft 100% washable cotton cover.

The Dormio Dream Organic Buckwheat Roll Pillow is the perfect size for neck support and very comfortable. Use it as a regular pillow or travel pillow. Unlike fibre-filled pillows, buckwheat hulls shift to contour to the shape of your head and neck. It’s breathable, remaining cool in warm weather and gently wicking moisture and perspiration away. Dust mite repellent.

Come in and choose your new pillow, lie down on our range of organic mattresses and experience each pillow to determine a perfect fit for you. A We promise you that you will find one that is right just for you and you will be amazed at the huge selection we carry. We at Dormio believe, the pillow is a very crucial aspect in creating the ultimate sleep experience and unfortunately consumers are not placing as much emphasis on choosing one as is needed. To assist our customers, the Dormio staff is here to help you find the perfect pillow. If you are looking for organic pillows to complement our range of organic mattresses, be it known, we are providing clients in Toronto and all over Ontario a healthier sleeping experience. Come visit out showroom today, and find out what a healthier sleep really means.

Now we would like to elaborate on the padding component of a mattress. There are different types of padding used in the mattress industry which include wool, polyurethane foam, convoluted foam, synthetic fibre pads and or polyester fibres. This blog will discuss the use of wool and polyurethane foam in the padding of mattresses as they are sold to clients as being organic, natural or green. Each consumer should understand exactly what an ‘organic’, ‘green’ or ‘natural’ really is when purchasing a mattress.

Wool is the number one animal fibre used worldwide and it has been used for a very long time, as early as 4000 BC when it was used by the Babylonians. It’s cool in the summer, warm in the winter, a natural fire retardant and resistant to bacteria. This is a hard combination of advantages to beat and a perfect component for a mattress. Primarily composed of a protein called keratin, which creates the fire retardant aspect, wool also has a natural curl that makes it resilient to crushing, making it a great fibre for padding our mattresses. Wool is usually sheared off sheep than washed with water, soap, and soda ash. It then goes through a process called carding in which the fibre passes through a variety of metal teeth that align the fibres and remove residual organic matter. Wool is sustainable, biodegradable and kinder to the environment than oil based synthetic fibres. Â True organic mattresses should be padded with 100% organic wool. Organic wool is sheared from sheep that are not exposed to pesticides and consume only organic feed; in addition they are raised and kept in good farm conditions. Wool from free grazing sheep, treated ethically throughout their long lives represents a traditional small scale industry that once thrived globally. Today many small farmers are returning to this sustainable industry to create clean and healthy wool that is produced without stress to the animals and the environment. Dormio Organic Beds is proud to utilize wool from farmers who treat their animals with care and in humane environments.

Traditional padding is made with polyurethane foam and many manufacturers portray their padding to be ‘green’ or ‘natural’ when in fact only a portion of it actually is. There has been a surge in the production of green polyurethane foam. The many chemicals used in polyurethane foam are recognized as carcinogens, and the fire retardants used in these foams add chemical toxicity. Also keep in mind that polyurethane foams do not decompose in landfills. What is being referred to today as green foam manufactured with the use of soybean, caster bean or other plant derived polyols is still mostly petro chemical based. Polyurethane is mostly composed of equal parts isocyanates , which is a deadly gas and a polyol. So if you substitute a soy-based polyol for 20 percent of the 50 percent you would have a product that is 10 percent soy and 90 per cent disastrous chemical. If all of the isocynates were replaced with soy based polyols, the product would still be 50 percent isocynates. Hardly green is it?

Altering traditional polyurethane formulas by adding natural and synthetic latex has also become a popular way to claim a greener heritage. If the end product is called polyurethane than that’s all it is. Â Just one more point. Polyurethane is extremely flammable therefore fire retardants must be added in its production to make it safe for home use, and this will be the subject of our next blog.

We at dormio pride ourselves in the use of organic wool or natural latex as the comfort layer, making our organic mattresses truly organic. For example our natural latex foam mattress is covered with organic cotton and padded with organic wool. At Dormio, we will explain each component of our mattresses or that of our suppliers so you are able to make a well informed decision when purchasing any mattress. Our motive is to provide our clients with a healthier sleeping experience so you will find a great alternative to your traditional mattress at price levels to match your budget. Visit our showroom today and be sure to check out our latex foam mattress selection.

Babies spend 10 to 14 hours each day sleeping or playing on a crib mattress; therefore what’s in the mattress is very important. Physicians and health care professional all agree that early exposure to chemicals can have a negative impact on a child’s health. Many researchers suspect that toxic chemicals are playing a significant role in the dramatic increase in childhood disorders. While some chemicals (pbdes) used in crib mattresses for years have been recently banned many others that have never been tested on babies are still widely used.

Some manufactures will have you believe that a limited amount of chemicals or only certain types of chemicals are ok to use in baby products. For example, food-grade polyethylene also sounds like you could eat it when in fact it is produced using petrochemicals. A foam crib mattress using food grade polyethylene and covered with organic cotton doesn’t result in an organic crib mattress, its still foam made with petrochemicals. Also keep in mind that anything claiming to be waterproof has also been lined with some kind of polyurethane or polyethylene backing. Some will even claim they use non harmful chemicals. Why expose your new baby to any chemicals at all, and what is a non harmful chemical anyways? Who determines this and has any long term study been conducted to null any negative health impacts from these chemicals?

The other buzz words are eco friendly or green. Plant derived or soybean foam crib mattresses are at least 70% petroleum based and not really made from soybeans. Bamboo may start out organic but certainly does not stay organic by the time it’s woven into a fabric. These eco materials may sound good, but are the really natural or organic?

Babies can’t process chemicals through their system quickly or efficiently, so when choosing a crib mattress remember no chemical exposure is best. All baby organs are very delicate since they are developing so parents need to be extra cautious about what their child sleeps on. At Dormio our baby products are 100% organic. We are committed to providing safe and healthy organic crib mattresses, organic baby bedding and crib accessories. In our organic crib mattress selection we offer both natural latex or coil systems, always with a generous layer of organic wool and also always covered with organic cotton. Dust mite and allergen resistant, these crib mattresses are comfortable and completely chemical free. In addition, our range or organic baby bedding, pillows and accessories will turn your baby’s room into an organic sleep haven.

Just remember, a healthy baby is a happy baby! And most importantly, we as parents need to provide safety and comfort for our children and a healthy sleep is the least we can give them.

Visit Dormio Organic Beds and experience what an organic sleep system has to offer. The Dormio staff will be glad to help and answer any questions, inquiries or concerns you may have. We look forward to meeting you!

Although every mattress will contain slightly different components, the modern mattress is constructed of 3 basic components.

The covering fabric also known as ticking, the padding or feel layer and the support core.

The ticking:

For years and years traditional mattresses were covered with traditional fibres, such as cotton, hemp, wool or silk. Our modern mattresses have replaced these natural materials with synthetic fibres, such as polyester, nylon, polypropylene, acrylic and polyvinyl chloride. Some are covered with blends of cotton and synthetic fibres. Almost all cotton used today is grown using chemical pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and defoliants. The covering is also subjected to a number of chemical applications, such as toxic dyes, water repellents, wrinkle resistant treatments, anti fungicides, pesticides, fire retards, and anti microbial coatings. Now keep in mind that none of these chemicals are ever listed on the mattress label that is attached to your new mattress.

The Dormio mattresses are covered only in certified organically grown cotton. We concentrate on how the cotton is woven to achieve different feels and superior comfort. To ensure your mattress is completely organic, be sure to inquire whether the cotton used is grown organically. Being an advocate of organic mattresses, you can be assured our mattresses contain 100% organic cotton.

The padding:

The padding layers insulate the mattress and add structure to the traditional mattress. Theses layers are usually made of polyurethane foam, convoluted foam, synthetic fibre pads and or polyester fibres. The loft or weight of this is determined by the numbers of layers that are put together. They are usually bonded with an artificial resin in order to bind the fibres together and prevent the fibres from shifting.

The Dormio mattresses use different thicknesses of organic wool as the feel layer. Wool is soft and comforting, great at regulating body temperature and is naturally antimicrobial. Our priority lies in providing our clients with a completely organic mattress to ensure a sleep free of chemicals and toxins. Followed by comfort and longevity, our mattresses will be a smart and healthy investment.

The core:

Traditional mattresses use a variety of polyurethane or memory foam cores and or steel springs, the purpose of the support core is to hold the body in alignment by pushing back in response to the sleeper’s weight. This is the overall mattress support system. With today’s innerspring mattresses being one sided the inner coil systems are not lasting very long and they have to sometimes hold two sleepers side by side that have very different body types and weights. Weight balance and mattress longevity is Impossible to achieve with an inner spring mattress.

The Dormio mattress support cores are natural latex and while using 5 different f densities our mattresses can easily support different body shapes and weights on the same bed. Natural latex is naturally hypoallergenic, super resilient and most importantly chemical/toxin free. A natural latex foam mattress is a completely organic option thus reducing the numerous side effects caused by the chemicals and toxins in conventional mattresses.

Now that you understand the general components of a mattress, you are well equipped to inquire about the materials used to produce the mattress. Some mattress manufacturers label their mattresses to be organic when in reality only some materials in their mattresses are organic. As consumers, we need to inquire and determine the legitimacy of all claims made by manufacturers. We hope this blog gave you some great insights into the components that comprise a mattress and what to look for when purchasing an organic mattress. Natural latex foam covered with organic cotton and padded with organic wool are the truly genuine organic mattresses you will find at Dormio.

Dormio is a trusted and genuine provider or 100% organic mattresses. We do not offer our clients anything other than organic mattresses, sheets and pillows so you will not find conventional mattresses in our store. This displays our integrity to organic mattresses and advocacy towards conventional mattresses. We understand the negative effects of the chemicals and toxins used to manufacture conventional mattresses and we as humans need to protect our well being. Drop by our store today and lie down on our organic mattresses; you will experience the comfort of a great and healthy mattress. Make sure you ask about our natural latex foam mattress with organic cotton and wool.